Computer networks are being used to provide inexpensive high-speed network connections to individuals, businesses and communities. Within corporate environments, many of the tasks performed by workers are made easier by the presence of networked computers. However, as more and more of these devices are networked together, the possibility of decreased network performance across these corporate networks increases as well.
Network analysis is sometimes used to increase network performance and determine the types of network traffic being handled. An analysis device is placed on the network and conversations between devices are analyzed with reference to a baseline performance to determine if the network is performing as expected. If the network is not performing as expected, a network engineer can look through these conversations and determine where the problems are.
Other methods include performing a snapshot network analysis, where real time trends in conversations or particular protocol traffic are looked at to see, in real-time, what is happening.